According to a recent Department of Justice press release, federal, state and local correctional authorities reported an estimated 7,374 allegations of sexual victimization involving incarcerated men and women in 2007 and 7,444 in 2008. Upon investigation, 1,932 allegations were substantiated (investigated and determined to have occurred), 3,939 were unfounded (determined not to have occurred) and 7,723 were unsubstantiated (lacking sufficient evidence). These figures indicate that one in seven cases of rape was confirmed after investigation.
Sexual victimization, as defined by Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), in compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, involves both inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate sexual victimization. Inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization includes nonconsensual sexual acts (involving penetration) and abusive sexual contacts (involving sexual touching without an inmate's consent). Staff-on-inmate sexual victimization includes sexual misconduct (involving any behavior or act of a sexual nature directed toward an inmate by staff) and sexual harassment (involving repeated verbal statements or comments of a sexual nature to an inmate by staff).
More than half (993) of all substantiated incidents were perpetrated by another inmate. More than fifty percent of these incidents (503) involved nonconsensual sexual acts. Among all substantiated incidents of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization, 69 percent involved force or threat force, offers of protection or favors, bribery, blackmail or other type of pressure.
Staff was involved in 939 incidents of sexual misconduct or harassment (515 in 2007 and 424 in 2008). In more than 60 percent of the incidents, the sexual relationship between staff and inmate “appeared willing,” although inmates by law are unable to consent. The majority of incidents (87 percent) involved staff sexual misconduct.